Where Art Thou?
by HalleyFarrot
Summary: McBreezy's LTM Fic Challenge. Prompt: Gillian/Eli - Kitten. Gillian turned around quickly and ran as fast as she could. When she saw the large trunk of an oak tree she pulled in close, stopped to catch her breath and listen.


OH Yes I joined the challenge! FUN! My first ever fic and probably my last one. This was originally written in Filipino script (Tagalog). Translating it in English was a struggle. I thought I won't be able to make it n time but hey suspension from work happened, nothing else to do i guess yada yada...

Thanks to SassyCop for answering all my annoying questions and helping me check this version in English. what a sweet sweet lady.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lie to Me or any of the characters, Sigh* sad isn't it?

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Gillian opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. She remembered lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking of that kiss and how she misses him. She must have fallen asleep. It was 9:17 pm according to her alarm clock. Her hand immediately reached out searching for him only to find an empty space. _**Where are you**_**?** She sat up on her bed for a moment, after a beat, she got up and tried to shake herself awake. _**Where did you go?**_ She called out his name a few times. _**No sign of him**__. _She groped into the blackness, feeling her way toward the light switch. She turned it on and slightly squinted because of the brightness. She looked at the mess he created on her bed. She shook her head and smiled. _**You're so easy to love**_.

She put on her robe and headed across the hallway to the den. He loved the den and he spent most of his time in that room. She started to worry when she didn't find him there. She checked every room but still no sign of him. She went down the stairs and called his name out again, nothing. _**Where did you go?**_ Gillian peered into the darkness and proceeded down the hallway to the dining room. She tugged at the curtain and beams of light from the moon shot into the room. She was looking through the window when she saw a shadow on her lawn moving towards her front door. She felt her heart race and stood frozen for a moment. _**Who is that!?**_ She waited for a knock on the door or the doorbell to ring. But neither happened. There was just silence. _**It's probably nothing.**_ She chuckled realizing that she was just scaring herself over nothing. She strode across the room to search for him; she checked all the doors and windows and found them all locked.

She walked across the hall from the dining room to her kitchen and switched the lights on, Gillian gasped when she saw the window over the sink was slightly open. _**Oh No! **_Her heart began to beat faster. _**Where are you? **_She walked over to the center of the room, reached to open one of the drawers of the butcher block counter and took out a flashlight. She grabbed the keys lying in the middle of the counter and unlocked the back door. She let herself out and switched on her flashlight.

Gillian quietly called his name out in a whisper. She moved swiftly shining her flashlight into the pitch-black lawn of her house. She circled around the house and stopped just beside the mail box, she peered down each side of the street looking for him. She stayed standing there for few minutes waiting. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of disappointment when she didn't see any sign of him anywhere.

She turned around and walked toward the front porch but stood frozen when she saw it again. The shadow with a form of a man appeared near the big oak tree but quickly disappeared.

"Hello...Who's there? "She whispered, just loud enough not to attract attention from her sleeping neighbors.

"I think I just saw Claire's kitten run over your creepy neighbor's hedges" a voice behind her muttered, she was so startled she almost jumped out of her skin. Gillian turned around and shined the flashlight on to the man's face. She let out a long sigh of relief when she recognized the man standing behind her.

"Eli!" she hissed in a whisper, she walked forward and swatted him slightly on his arm.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! "She turned the flashlight off and strolled into the darkness toward the hedges. She could hear Eli's footstep following behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I should say I brought papers for you to sign but you'll just see through my lies, so I'll tell you the truth. The Boss man asked me to check on you" Eli caught up to her and they walked side by side toward the hedges.

"Thank you!" She gave him a sharp look.

"You know Lightman, he's a worrier! Especially when it comes to you and Emily" he pointed out.

"I saw Ria's car two blocks away from here yesterday. Who will patrol tomorrow? Anna?" she said a bit irritated.

"I believe its Emily's turn."

Gillian gaped at him in disbelief.

"What? You did asked!" Eli looked at her narrowing brows while shrugging his shoulders.

It had been three days since she'd seen Cal, since he stood by her side and held her hand at Claire's Funeral. He stayed with her that entire day. He lent her a shoulder to cry on. Something was odd about his behavior but she was too preoccupied to point it out. After the funeral he took her home and they shared a home cooked dinner together. They both agreed she should take a few days off from work. She told him she needed time to be alone and he respected that. A few hours later, when Cal said his goodbyes and called it a day, was when it happened. _**That kiss.**_ It only lasted a brief moment but she thought it was the sweetest and the most passionate kiss she'd ever imagined. Cal stared at her and tried to read her for god knows how long. _**Call or text me when you need me luv. **_She heard him say before he turned his back and walk away. Since then they hadn't talked, texted or emailed.

"Foster...Foster..."Eli called when he noticed that her mind was floating somewhere else.

"I'm fine!" she forced her lips into half smile, her mind kept going back to the kiss she and Cal had shared. She had to fight hard to push those thoughts away. _**Okay Focus! Cat first Cal later!**_

They stopped walking when they reached her neighbor's waist high hedges.

"Where did you see him?" she worriedly asked while she stood on her toe and take a quick peek at the other side of the hedges, the house was quiet and there were no lights on in the two story brick house. Gillian thought the house looked a little spooky. _**No one's home?**_

"I was about to knock on your door when I saw him wandering in your lawn, so I followed him. I think I scared him off because when he saw me, he ran over there." Eli pointed his finger at the hedges. "Come on! Let's go find him." Eli dragged her around the hedges toward her neighbor's lawn.

"Eli! My neighbors are obviously not home. We can't just go in there and look around. That's trespassing!" She tugged one of his arms to stop him.

"We're just going to look around. We are not going to steal anything... Look! Do you want to find him or not?" Eli asked looking at her intently.

_**I got a kitten Gill. He is so adorable! His name is Romeo. I'll let you meet him one day! **_Claire's voice echoed on her ears.

Eli opened his mouth to say something else but he closed it again when she turned her back on him and walked toward her house. She came back a few moments later holding two flashlights and a bag full of cat treats. She handed one of the flashlights to Eli and she walked around the hedges on tiptoe. Gillian stopped when she felt Eli was watching her.

"What now?" Gillian asked narrowing her eyes.

"Criminal Foster is so damn cute! can I take a picture?" Eli said with a huge grin in his face.

"Let's just go find the kitten, please?" She rolled her eyes at him.

They both turned their flashlights on and started to look around her neighbor's garden.

Gillian shook the plastic bag full of cat treats _**I can't believe I lost the kitten.**_

"Romeo... Romeo... come out now please" she begged.

She heard sounds coming from the back of her house. "What's that!?"

"Ssshhhh... wait here." Eli walked across the lawn in a few quick strides. She saw him disappear in the darkness. Then there was a long silence...

"Eli?" she whispered. "what's going on?" She heard the noises again, but louder this time. She was about to check on Eli when he came running fast towards her.

"Foster RUN!" Eli yelled.

Gillian turned around quickly and ran as fast as she could. When she saw the large trunk of an oak tree she pulled in close, stopped to catch her breath and listen. She heard Eli's panting. Her eyes searched for him and spotted him kneeling on the grass breathing in and out fast.

"What was that!?" she asked nervously.

"Your neighbor's dog chased me!" Eli cried out

She closed her eyes in relief and looked at him in amusement_. _Gillian tried her best not to laugh at him but after a few seconds the most extraordinary laugh burst out of her. Eli gave her a puzzled look.

"Eli, my neighbor's dog is a chihuahua, probably the smallest chihuahua I've ever seen!" Gillian explained in fragment words, her eyes were glistening with tears of laughter.

"So!? It's dark and I panicked!" he started to laugh too.

They laughed so hard, their stomachs began to hurt. But they stopped instantly when they heard a meowing cat. They stared at each other, then looked up slowly into the oak tree.

"Romeo!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Oh Romeo, how did you get up there?" she muttered looking up at the scared kitten.

"Clearly, I wasn't the only one chased by your neighbor's crazy dog" Eli said briskly. He took his phone out of his pocket and began to dial.

"What are you doing?" Gillian asked raising an eyebrow

"Calling the fire department, they have those long ladders that we can use to get the kitten." He continued dialing.

"Don't call the fire department! They need to deal with real emergencies!" Gillian took his phone and pressed the end button.

"So, what? We just create a landing pad with blankets, shake your food bag and wait?" Eli said in protest.

"No, one of us climbs up." Gillian winked and looked at him while grinning.

"NO! Foster! That tree is too damned! high" he cried. He knew what she was suggesting.

"Okay, I'll do it! I'm not letting that kitten spend his night alone and scared in this tree." She began to remove her footwear and get ready to climb the tree. "Hold this and light my way up." Gillian handed him the flashlight and started to climb.

"Lightman will kill me!" Eli grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Gillian asked when she heard Eli mumbling.

"Would you stop please? I'll do it, okay?" he looked at her and she smiled at him sweetly.

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Eli's eyes scanned the breadth of the tree. He approached cautiously and looked up to determine where exactly the kitten was. There were so many branches fanning out into all different directions. Eli started to work his way up to the top of the trunk. He climbed further up into the branches. Gillian was lighting his way up using her flashlight, he slowly got higher and higher until he was at the very top canopy. He reached for the kitten and he grabbed it by its scruff. He climbed back down to the trunk and stood there thinking how he was going to make it down without falling and hurting himself. He began to worry. _**There is no way I can make it down there without falling!**_

He took out his phone from his pocket and started to call Foster. He waved his phone to Gillian gesturing that he was calling her. She nodded and stepped inside her house. She came back in few seconds holding her phone.

"Hello?" Gillian answered. "Is he okay?"

"Romeo is fine, but I'm not! I can't get down!" Eli said on the other line. "What do we do?" he sounded worried.

"I'll get some help! Just stay put okay?" She hung up.

Gillian dialed on her phone and calmly said "Hello! I need some help please! My friend is stuck in a big oak tree." She provided her address and answered some questions for the person on the other end of the line. "Okay thank you, and hurry please" she added sweetly before she hung up.

She dialed Eli's number "Hi! How are you two!?" she was looking up at him.

"We're okay just a little cold, who did you call for help" Eli was sitting down on a tree branch while Romeo was napping on his lap.

"Just wait, they're on their way here" She looked down and smiled secretly.

After ten or so minutes passed, a patrol car pulled over in front of her house, two police officers in uniform emerged from the car. "Good evening Ma'am, are you alright?" asked the older officer.

"I'm fine, thank you officer. My friend is up there. His name is Eli Loker." Gillian smiled politely and pointed her finger up at Eli's direction. "Do you want to talk to him?" Gillian offered her phone to the older officer and he gladly took it.

"Hello Eli, is it?... Everything alright up there?" he asked looking up at him.

"Yes sir, everything's alright just a little cold." Eli answered in puzzlement.

"The fire fighters and paramedics are on their way here. Just stay put." the officer assured him.

"Thank you sir, can I talk to Dr Foster please?" he asked a bit embarrassed.

The officer passed the phone to Gillian.

"You called the police, the paramedics and the fire department!?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, well, technically I just called the police, the police called the others." she said matter of factly.

"You told me not to call them earlier!" Eli whined.

"Sadly, a cat stuck in a tree is not an emergency call, but a man on the other hand..."

"Foster! This is so embarrassing" Eli cut her off.

"What is so embarrassing about saving a kitten Eli? I'd say it's heroic." She looked up and smiled at him coyly.

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Her neighbors began to wake up one by one when the sirens of the paramedics and fire fire-fighters echoed on their street. There was a small crowd forming in front of her lawn but the two police officers were doing an excellent job controlling them. The fire fighters started to take out their gear and looked around to assess the situation. They began the rescue in no time. After twenty five minutes Eli and Romeo were back on solid ground.

Gillian quickly made her way over to Eli. She took the kitten and kissed it. "I was so worried about you honey, don't ever run away like that again."

"Do I get a kiss too?"He butted in.

"I'm so glad that you're okay Eli and thank you for saving my kitten." She smiled at him.

Gillian and Eli talked for a little while. She talked about how she got Claire's kitten from the pound. He talked about how Ria played a prank on him the previous day. She talked to him about how bored she had become the past few days doing nothing. He told her how Cal was biting everyone's head off in the office while she was away. They laughed so hard when they talked about her neighbor's Chihuahua. It was after midnight when Eli realized what time it was and that he had an early client interview in the morning.

"I should get going." Eli said while yawning.

"You should get some rest." She walked him out.

"Thank you Eli. Tonight was fun." They both chuckled at her comment.

He walked out the door toward his car that was parked few blocks away. He looked back and saw Foster still standing in her doorway.

"You're a good friend Foster!" he yelled, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Liar!" She smiled while shaking her head.

Gillian closed the door behind her and looked around for her kitten.

"Romeo...Where are you again?"This time she heard him meow. She saw him settled in his bed. She took her phone from the dining room table and walked across the living room to sit on her couch. She then sent Cal a text: **Eli and I have done nasty things tonight, he is fun. STOP sending our employees here to spy on me! Let's talk tomorrow. Be here at seven. I'll cook dinner. :-) **Gillian pressed send button, and after few seconds her phone began to ring. She smiled when she saw Cal's photo on her caller's ID._** I need you.**_

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no animals were harmed on this fiction I thought you should know that.

thank you for reading. and if you're leaving a review, be gentle will you please? my heart is weak.


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